The Daffiama-Bussie-Issa District of the Upper West Region has placed cashew production as its priority with the aim of taking advantage of its vibrant market potential to boost the local economy of the district.

Date Created : 8/13/2019 5:10:54 AM : Story Author :

Through the Planting for Export and Rural Development, the district has distributed over 51,000 cashew seedlings to farmers last year free of charge and another 291,000 is being given out to them.

Mr Nadi Imoro Sanda, the Daffiama-Bussie-Issa District Chief Executive (DCE), said the price of a bag of cashew was currently GH? 2,000.00 on the market.

“All things being equal, if all the seedlings we issued to these farmers, then the farmers stand the chance of making GHC 68 million which can change their living conditions”, he said. The DCE said 10 per cent tax of that amount would amount to GHC 6.8 million and this according to the DCE was more than the Internally Generated Funds (IGF) of the Assembly.

Mr Imoro Sanda said there is a lot of potential in cashew production and if the district made it a priority, it could turn around the local economy and lift the people out of poverty.

He said the district would therefore continue to educate farmers on best practices to ensure the maximum success of the PERD programme in the district.

He said when cashew production takes shape in the district; a District Cashew Board would be established to bring all the farmers together under one umbrella so that they could determine their own prices to avoid unscrupulous business persons from taking advantage of individual farmers.

Mr Imoro Sanda said the Assembly has embarked on about 50 projects in the areas of health, education, water and sanitation, roads, agriculture, energy, security and general developmental projects. On employment, the DCE said, a total of 170 youth were engaged under the Nation Builders Corps (NABCO) and 75 temporal nurses as well as 40 others engaged temporally to carry out a District Farmer Registry Exercise.

Mr Imoro Sanda said the district scored 98 per cent in the District Performance Assessment Tools (DPAT) adding that it was the highest performance in the region.He said it is refreshing to note that the district now has a resident medical doctor.

The district placed third and 68th positions in the region and country at large respectively in the area of open defecation while a total of 548 Persons with Disabilities were supported under the various categories.

The DCE commended the role of Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) in the development agenda of the district and called on more to extend their projects to the district.

Mr Imoro Sanda said the district is still challenged with poor internet connectivity, poor road network, poor community cooperation in revenue mobilization and inadequate residential accommodation.

He mentioned peaceful coexistence among communities and workers of the district and availability of fertile land for agricultural and industrial purposes as some of the opportunities available in the district.